A brief recap of CORE's 2026 Data for Change Data Summit, held in Portland on June 5, 2026.
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Thank you to everyone who joined us for CORE’s fourth annual Data for Change Data Summit event!
Held in Portland, Oregon, the 2026 summit was All About Surveys! Attendees from community-based organizations (CBOs) across the state came together for a day of networking, learning, and sharing best practices for using surveys to better understand the communities and populations they serve.
Keep reading for a quick recap and links to the slides from the summit. Or learn more about Data for Change at CORE’s website!
A deep dive into surveys
The 2026 summit's theme was All About Surveys! Throughout the day, workshops and presentations focused on practical approaches to designing, fielding, and analyzing surveys, including:
- Designing surveys that align with program goals and values
- Effectively engaging survey respondents
- Incorporating equity principles into survey design
- Using an analytic plan to prioritize and document survey data analysis
- Navigating challenges like fraudulent survey responses and social media bots
Sharing cool CBO work
Attendees also got the chance to hear about innovative projects and what’s working at other CBO’s during a lightning round of “cool work” presentations.
Leaders and staff from the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, Central City Concern, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), ACCESS, and Providence Oregon Community Health were among the presenters, who highlighted the many creative ways organizations are using data in their work.
Geeking out… together!
Another highlight of the day was our Speed Geeking session. Subject matter experts from CORE hosted a variety of small-group conversations on topics ranging from data storytelling and Likert scale analysis to alternative ways to gather data beyond fielding surveys.
The CORE team really enjoyed these fast, fun sessions, and we hope to continue engaging attendees through these sorts of collaborative activities!
Thank you, attendees!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us, shared their experiences, and contributed to the conversation. We are grateful to learn alongside such thoughtful partners and look forward to seeing you at the next Data Summit.
Thank you also to Providence Oregon Community Health for their ongoing support and participation in Data for Change.
Related Resources
- Data Summit - All About Surveys - Session 1 Slide Deck
- Data Summit - All About Surveys - Session 2 Slide Deck
Related news/resources
- CORE blog: Data with purpose: How CORE's Data for Change program drives meaningful impact
- Catholic Health World article: Providence CORE enables organizations to use data to increase the impact of their work
